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Vinoba Bhave,( विनोबा भावे ), born
Vinayak Narahari Bhave (September 11, 1895 -
November 15 1982) often called Acharya (In Sanskrit means teacher), was an Indian
advocate of Nonviolence and human rights. He is
considered as a National Teacher of India and the spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi.[1]

Early
life and background

He was born in Gagode, Maharashtra on September 11, 1895 into a
pious family of the ChitpavanBrahmin clan. He was highly inspired after
reading the Bhagavad
Gita, Mahabharat, Ramayan at a very early
age. His father was a devout Hindu and his mother, who died in
1918, was a great influence on him. In his memoir, Bhave states
that, "there is nothing to equal the part my mother played in
shaping my mind". Specifically, his devotion and spirituality.

His two brothers, Balkoba Bhave and Shivaji Bhave, were also
bachelors devoted to social work.

These highly inspiring talks were later published as the book
"Talks on the Gita", and it has been translated to many languages
both in India and elsewhere. Vinoba felt that the source of these
talks was something above and he believed that its influence will
endure even if his other works were forgotten.

In 1940 he was chosen by Gandhi to be the
first Individual Satyagrahi (an Individual standing up for Truth
instead of a collective action) against the
British rule. It is said that Gandhi envied and respected Bhave's
celibacy, a vow he made in his adolescence, in fitting with his
belief in the Brahmacharya principle. Bhave also
participated in the Quit India Movement.

Religious and social
work

Vinoba's religious outlook was very broad and it synthesized the
truths of many religions. This can be seen in one of his hymns "Om
Tat" which contains symbols of many religions.

Vinoba observed the life of the average Indian living in a
village and tried to find solutions for the problems he faced with
a firm spiritual foundation. This formed the core of his Sarvodaya
(Awakening of all potentials) movement. Another example of this is
the Bhoodan (land gift) movement. He
walked all across India asking people with land to consider him as
one of their sons and so give him a portion of their land which he
then distributed to landless poor. Non-violence and
compassion being a hallmark of his philosophy, he also campaigned
against the slaughtering of cows.

Literary
career

Vinoba Bhave was a scholar, thinker, writer who produced
numerous books, translator who made Sanskrit texts accessible to
common man, orator, linguist who had excellent command of several
languages (Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, English, Sanskrit), and a social
reformer. He wrote brief introductions to, and criticisms of,
several religious and philosophical works like the Bhagavad Gita,works
of Adi Shankaracharya, the Bible and Quran.
His criticism of Dnyaneshwar's poetry as also the output by other
Marathi saints is quite brilliant and a testimony to the breadth of
his intellect. A university named after him Vinoba Bhave University
is still there in the state of Jharkhand spreading knowledge even
after his death.

Later life
and death

Vinoba spent the later part of his life at his ashram in Paunar, Maharashtra. He
controversially backed the Indian Emergency
imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, calling it Anushasana
Parva (Time for Discipline).

He fell ill in November 1982 and decided to end his life. He
died on November 15, 1982 after refusing food and medicine for a
few days. Some Indians have identified this as sallekhana. It is the Jain religious ritual of
voluntary death by fasting.

Criticism

V. S. Naipaul
has given scathing criticism of Bhave in his collection of essays
citing his lack of connection with rationality and excessive
imitation of Gandhi. Even some of his admirers find fault with the
extent of his devotion to Gandhiji. Much more controversial was his
support, ranging from covert to open, to Congress Party's Govt
under Indira Gandhi which was fast becoming unpopular.

Madhukar (collection and compilation of his articles
written over the years (before freedom was achieved.)

Krant Darshan (as no. 4)

Teesri Shakti or The Third Power (his views on
political life of the nation)

Swarajya Shastra (his political treatise)

Bhoodan Ganga - in 9/10 volumes, (in Marathi, Hindi)
collection and compilation of his speeches from 18 April 1951)

Manushasanam, (his selections from Manusmruti,

Moved By Love: The memoirs of Vinoba Bhave

Quotes

"All revolutions are spiritual at the source. All my activities
have the sole purpose of achieving a union of hearts."

"Peace is something mental and spiritual. If there be peace in
our (personal) life, it will affect the whole world"

"Jai Jagat! — Victory to the world!"

"It is a curious phenomena that God has made the hearts of the poor rich, and those
of the rich poor."

"What we should aim at is the creation of people power, which
is opposed to the power of violence and is different from the
coercive power of state."

"A country should be defended not by arms, but by ethical
behavior."

"We cannot fight new wars with old weapons."

"When a thing is true, there is no need to use any arguments to
substantiate it."

"There is no need for me to protest against the government’s
faults, it is against its good deeds that my protests are
needed."

"Do not allow yourself to imagine that revolutionary thinking
can be propagated by governmental power."

"I beg you not to adopt any "go slow" methods of nonviolence. In
nonviolence you must go full steam ahead, if you want the good to
come speedily you must go about it with vigor. A merely soft,
spineless ineffective kind of nonviolence will actually encourage
the growth of the status quo and all the forces of a violent system
which we deplore."

See also

Further
reading

Vinoba Bhave: The Man and His Mission, by P. D.
Tandon. Published by Vora, 1954.

India's Walking Saint: The Story of Vinoba Bhave, by
Hallam Tennyson. Published by Doubleday, 1955.

Acharya Vinoba Bhave, by Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting, India, Published by Publications Division, Government
of India, 1955.

India's Social Miracle: The Story of Acharya Vinoba Bhave
and His Movement for Social Justice and Cooperation, Along with a
Key to America's Future and the Way for Harmony Between Man,
Nature, and God, by Daniel P. Hoffman. Published by
Naturegraph Co., 1961.

Vinoba Bhave (1895-1982), was a philosopher and revolutionist of India. He was a pupil of Mahatma Gandhi (1869~ 1948), who was called "Mahatma", meaning a great sage. Vinoba Bhave also lived following the doctrine of ahimsa, which means nonviolence. His ideas were also influenced by his grandfather, father, and mother. His grandfather taught him about the purity of spirit. He got the Bharat Ratna award by Indian government in 1983. His father, who was yoga ascetic, taught him how to think scientifically. His mother taught him what a faith is.

There are a lot of accomplishments he made. The most famous thing is "Budan", which is an idea of sharing lands with the poor. He argued that land is not something that can be occupied. He insisted that land owners should donate their one sixth of their land to people who do not have land. He campaigned to give rice to hungry people. And he also did a campaign of self-supporting and self-sufficient. These worked successfully and he became a great man of India.